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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29911170">Distance &amp; Dragons</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/amathyst_song/pseuds/amathyst_song'>amathyst_song</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Human, COVID-19, Characters Play Dungeons &amp; Dragons, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff, Gen, Quarantine, Slow To Update, Will update tags as we go</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 13:55:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,122</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29911170</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/amathyst_song/pseuds/amathyst_song</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When the boredom of quarantine starts to set in, the Jericrew Four and their friends, Connor and Chloe, all take up Josh's offer to play a D&amp;D campaign.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chloe &amp; Connor &amp; Josh &amp; Markus &amp; North &amp; Simon (Detroit: Become Human), Original Chloe | RT600/North</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Distance &amp; Dragons</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A cute, fluffy beginning to a fic I'll write whenever my long-form, canon-compliant-ish, angsty, serious fic (that's also a huge WIP) is too much to handle and I just want to give the characters hugs. Might come back to update every once in a while. Not expecting many people to read, but enjoy it if you do!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> One-fourth cup of milk and two tablespoons of butter fall into the hot, recently drained, golden potato-filled saucepan. Simon reaches for the potato masher on the white countertop beside his well-cleaned gas stove. He makes quick work of the pan’s contents, transforming the starchy vegetables into a creamy mash with one-fourth a cup of sour cream, four times as much cheese, an egg yolk, salt, and pepper.</p><p> Just as Simon’s turning around from presetting the oven, North takes a seat on one of the stools at the island counter before dramatically splaying herself, face first, over the surface. <br/>
<br/>
“I’m dying. Need food,” the loose pile of strawberry hair says.</p><p>“It will be ready soon,” Simon tells her good-naturedly as he returns to his work. He heats the olive oil and butter in his skillet before adding his onions and carrots.</p><p>“Oh, leave Mom alone, North,” Markus calls out from ten feet away. He’s sitting at the table next to the living room window, playing a heated game of chess with Connor. “Dinner won’t be ready sooner just because you asked him.”</p><p>“Yes it will,” she responds. “It’s just like asking ‘are we there yet.’” </p><p> Once the onions are translucent, Simon adds the beef, further stirring until the meat is a nice brown. Cooking is always relaxing; he loves the structure recipes provide, but also how forgiving food can be, even if they’re not followed exactly. He loves all the different smells, too, and the look of all the different herbs he adds to his shepherd’s pie filling. Rosemary, thyme… <br/>
 <br/>
“Dammit, I walked into that one, didn’t I?” Simon looks across to the living room again to see Markus slumping back in his chair and a very smug Connor picking up a white queen.<br/>
 <br/>
“It happens,” the brunet says.<br/>
 <br/>
Worcestershire, beef stock, and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened. Stir in the peas.<br/>
 <br/>
“Could you move, North?” Simon asks, politely.<br/>
 <br/>
“Ugh, fine.” She picks herself up, now sitting semi-properly. Her expression never stays sour for long, though. As much as she complains, they all know how much North loves to watch Simon cook. </p><p>“It’s like my own in-person cooking show,” she comments as he sets the casserole dish down where her head just was. He pours the filling in and tops it with the mashed potatoes before transferring the dish to the oven.</p><p>“I’m setting a timer for twenty-five minutes,” Simon tells her as he washes his hands clean.</p><p>“That’s too long.” </p><p>“Checkmate. We could find a show to watch,” Connor offers, turning to the others as he leaves Markus to exasperatedly study the board. </p><p>“I’ve already binged <em>The Umbrella Academy </em>four times since quarantine started,” North responds. </p><p>“Quarantine only started two weeks ago,” Markus says, finally tearing himself away from his lost match.</p><p>“Exactly. I’ve had enough TV for a while.”</p><p>Simon looks at the gathered group of friends. Most days have been like this since college classes were temporarily canceled for safety reasons. Markus, North, Josh, and Simon all share and split the cost for a rental house. Connor lives just across the street with his own roommate, Chloe. When the pandemic really hit, they agreed the two C’s and them could all exist in the same social bubble, effectively making them one quarantined household for virus-avoiding purposes. Two weeks of TV and losing chess matches and confused laying about in the living room later, and they’re all still struggling to grasp the reality of a pandemic. The horror of boredom is much more immediate.</p><p>“I wonder what Josh is up to,” Simon muses.</p><p>Just then, Josh’s door in the hallway is thrown open. Out he steps, arms full with his laptop, oversized books, and too many papers, a few of which spiral to the floor. He walks determinedly to the living room, leaving a trail in his wake.</p><p>“What’s all that?” North asks, leaving her stool for the couch.</p><p>“Dungeons and Dragons,” Josh says proudly as he deposits his large collection on the coffee table.</p><p>Simon, after wiping down the counters, makes his way over to sit next to North. He thinks back to his and Josh’s high school afternoons spent in the old math teacher’s room. D&amp;D club had been how the two of them had met, afterall. “It’s been a while since we’ve played, hasn’t it?”</p><p>“I forgot that I’m friends with such nerds.” North had been the odd one out there. She was a friend they’d made in GSA.</p><p>“I’ve never actually played,” Markus comments, dismissing North’s jab. “But I read-- used to read a lot of fantasy novels with Carl.” His bravado slowly fades as he speaks. Simon offers him a smile he hopes comes off as comforting. Markus lost his father earlier in the school year, and they all know how hard he’s been taking it.</p><p>“Chloe and I used to play it all the time. It’s a good distraction,” Connor chimes in, offering Markus an out. “Are you suggesting you’d run a campaign, Josh?”</p><p>“I am. I mean, we have more time than we’ve had in a while, right?” Josh kneels down, sorting through his books. “Is that something you’d all be interested in?”<br/>
 <br/>
They all offer noises of assent, save North.</p><p>“Can I beat things up?” she asks.</p><p>“Combat is a pretty big focus of the game,” Simon replies.</p><p>“Then count me in.” She’s grinning now, reaching for a Player’s Handbook to flip through.</p><p>“You said Chloe played, Connor?” Josh asks. When Connor nods, he continues, “Want to go invite her? We haven’t seen her much recently.”</p><p>Beside him, North looks up at Connor, hopefully. Simon tries to stifle his own grin but fails. As fierce as she tries to present herself, he knows how much of a useless lesbian North can be.</p><p>“I think she’d like that,” Connor says. “I’ll go tell her.”</p><p>“Tell her I made food, too,” Simon adds.</p><p> </p><p><br/>
 Half an hour later finds the Jericrew and friends gathered around the weathered dining table, munching on Simon’s shepherd pie while they pour over collections of D&amp;D books and character sheets. Josh watches the scene proudly from the head of the table, glad his friends took to his suggestion so well.</p><p> “I want to beat something up real close. Which class lets me do that?” North asks.</p><p> “What fighting style do you want to play?” Josh counters with a question, hoping to narrow down the list. He has his suspicions, but it’s always best to hear from the player.</p><p> “I want big muscles and an intimidating presence. Something that uses Strength,” she responds. Josh can see her on the ability score page from where she sits at his right.</p><p> “I’d suggest either barbarian or fighter. You can find the class descriptions further in.”</p><p> “The names sound promising.” She finds the table of contents and flips to the barbarian description. The first page is dominated by a muscular, battle-ax-wielding human. “What do they each do?”</p><p> “Both barbarians and fighters can be played as defenders or strikers.” When Josh is met with a confused look, he continues. “You can either be a wall of health and protect your friends or be a good source of damage.”</p><p> “Wall of health? You mean I could just like…” She trails off, smirk growing on her face, distant look in her eye as the beginnings of a character come into her head. Josh knows the look well. “Be a big buff lady who never dies?”</p><p> “That’s the barbarian class in a nutshell,” Connor comments from where he sits at Josh’s left, just across the table from North. “You stack up on Strength and Constitution and become very difficult to kill.”</p><p> “Sign me up.” </p><p> Josh had already run over the basics of the character sheet with her and helped her understand racial stats, so she simply snatches one of the pencils from the center of the table and gets to work. With North happily settled for the moment, Josh turns to Connor.</p><p> “Do you have a character concept?” Josh peers over, seeing the other flipping through <em>Xanathar’s Guide to Everything</em>.</p><p> “I love playing librarian characters, so I normally end up playing the wizard,” Connor responds. “Hexblade warlock looks interesting, though.”</p><p> “You could combine the two. Play a scholar who made a pact for knowledge.” Josh can already see the beginnings of story writing itself here. </p><p> “What setting will we be playing in? Forgotten Realms?” Connor reaches over for his sheet, penciling in ‘warlock’ in the space for his class and ‘sage’ for his background.</p><p> “It’s a homebrew setting. Think of the main region, Scharwald, as Germany meets Celtic folklore meets spooky forest.” Josh had decided to go very generic in his worldbuilding. A continent with a variety of European inspired cultures, an ‘Egypt’ to the south across a small body of water, an ‘Ottoman Empire’ to the east and, even further east, an ‘India’ and ‘China.’ It would provide the world variety, recognizable mythologies, and an easy to grasp setting. He knows Connor just wants to know more about potential patrons at the moment, though. “You could make a pact with an equivalent to the Raven Queen, an archfey, or even a fiend. Anything you want. I’ll just say that, whoever they are, they speak to you through your weapon if you go Hexblade.”</p><p> “You said Celtic folklore? That’s fey and whatnot, right?” Connor asks, looking between Chloe to his own left and Josh. From what time Josh has spent with Chloe, Josh knows she is an avid fairytale reader, with a book collection to rival even Connor’s and his own.</p><p> “Many inspirations for fey came from Celtic cultures, yes,” Chloe speaks up. “I was just going to ask if fey existed in this world, myself.”</p><p> “They do. ‘Scharwald’ itself means something like ‘black wood.’ As the name suggests, it’s dominated by a large dark forest. All kinds of things live in it; fiends, aberrations, fey, and even just regular ol’ humans.” At his answer, Chloe gives a vague nod, returning to staring blankly at the paladin page of her own personal <em>Player’s Handbook.</em></p><p> “A pact with an archfey should work, then,” Connor says. </p><p> “I’ll be sure to work out the backstory later with you.” Josh turns his attention over to Chloe. “What about you, Chloe?”</p><p> She stares at her book a moment longer. Josh can almost see the thoughts flitting through her head. “I’ve always loved the fantasy of a green knight. If you would be willing to change the multiclassing requirement from Strength to Dexterity, I would like to play a finesse-based Oath of the Ancients paladin, Fey-Blooded sorcerer multiclass.”</p><p> “I’m fine with that. You want a more magic-focused paladin?”</p><p> “That’s the idea.” Chloe gives him a soft smile.</p><p> Josh finally gets up from his seat, rounding the table so he can stand next to Simon (just to the right of North) and Markus, who sits at the other end of the table. “Need help over here?”</p><p> Markus looks up from the <em>Player’s Handbook</em> settled between him and Simon, who’s been quietly explaining the game to him.</p><p>“So I heard there are fairies in the party,” Markus starts, mirth in his eyes.</p><p><em>This will be a campaign alright</em>, Josh thinks. “You’ve heard right. Connor and Chloe are both playing characters related to fey in some manner.”</p><p>“How about one more? Simon here’s told me about the Glamour Bard.” Josh has played a campaign with a Glamour Bard in the party before. “It sounds like what I’m looking for.”</p><p>“Charm-focused performers, right?” He clarifies, encouraging Markus’s idea along.<br/>
<br/>
Markus looks to Simon, who nods and says, “Markus was thinking of bringing in greek mythology elements. A satyr-trained poet who sings old odes.”<br/>
<br/>
“Which brings me to my question,” Markus adds. “Just how satyr am I allowed to be?”<br/>
<br/>
The three spend a few minutes shooting ideas back and forth. In the end, they decide that Markus will play a satyr from the ancient Greece-inspired wilds, traveling the world, looking for songs. It’s very him.<br/>
<br/>
And lastly, there’s Simon.<br/>
<br/>
 “I’ve read through the new Peace Domain from <em>Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything</em>,” the blond says. “A priest who tries to spread peace and love.”<br/>
<br/>
 “You’re such a hippie, Simon,” North says, not looking away from the crude doodle of a buff elf barbarian saying ‘fite me.’<br/>
<br/>
“Maybe,” is all their friend says in response, though he has that characteristic smile of his. It’s not unlike Chloe’s, in all honesty.<br/>
<br/>
And thus the party began. A wood elf barbarian, a human warlock, a half-elf paladin, a satyr bard, and a tiefling cleric. Over the next few days, Josh plans to work out backstories with the group. And after that, the real adventure will begin.</p>
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